Second-grade student with knife attacks schoolmates in Sauk Rapids

A second-grade student at a Sauk Rapids elementary school attacked classmates with a knife Monday morning, school officials said.

Three students were wounded, but all were treated and released from a hospital.

The attack took place at Pleasantview Elementary as students were arriving for class about 7:15 Monday morning, said Sauk Rapids-Rice Superintendent Bruce Watkins.

"This morning, we did have an unfortunate incident," Watkins said in an interview. "It happened before school started. A second-grade male student, after he put his backpack away, took out his knife and struck three students with his knife."

The attack occurred in a hallway near an entrance where students were arriving, Watkins said. School officials immediately called police and an ambulance service.

The victims were taken to a hospital but were released to their parents after treatment, he said. The school has made mental health counselors available to students and staff, Watkins added. Classes went on as scheduled.

As for the student with the knife, "There will be an action taken on behalf of local law enforcement," Watkins said, and the attacker will not be allowed back in school.

The district's disciplinary policy forbids students who are violent from attending school in the district, he said.